Asm. Cristina Garcia

Existing law defines the measure of indemnity for a loss under an open fire insurance policy and specifies time limits under which an insured must collect the full replacement cost of the loss. Existing law prohibits a fire insurance policy issued or delivered in the state from limiting or denying payment of the replacement cost of property in the event the insured decides to rebuild or replace the property at a location other than the insured premises. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, and requires regional centers to identify and pursue all possible sources of funding for consumers receiving those services. Existing law defines a "developmental disability" as a disability that originates before an individual attains 18 years of age, continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely, and constitutes a substantial disability for the individual. This bill would modify that definition to mean a disability that originates before an individual attains 22 years of age, continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely, and constitutes a substantial disability for the individual.

Under existing law, the segments of postsecondary education in this state are the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions. The Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act establishes the Golden State Scholarshare Trust, under the administration of the Scholarshare Investment Board. This bill would establish the Children's Savings Account Program, under the administration of the board, for the purposes of expanding access to higher education through savings. The program would require the board to establish a 529 plan account under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as specified, for each California resident child born on or after January 1, 2018, who is a California resident at the time of birth, except for the children whose parents or legal guardians have opted out, as specified. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the bill would require the board to make an initial contribution to the account and provide certain incentives for contributions made by participants to the account, as specified. The bill would prescribe the powers and duties of the board to administer and implement the program. The bill would require the board to aggressively market the program to California residents, as specified. This bill would establish the Children's Savings Account Program Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the board for the program. The bill would require the Director of Finance to determine, at the commencement of each fiscal year, whether there are sufficient funds to implement the program in that fiscal year, and to communicate this determination to the board in a timely manner each fiscal year.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a person, other than a small contributor committee or political party committee, from making to a candidate for elective state office, for statewide elective office, or for office of the Governor, and prohibits those candidates from accepting from a person, a contribution totaling more than a specified amount per election. For a candidate for elective state office other than a candidate for statewide elective office, the limitation on contributions is $3,000 per election, as that amount is adjusted by the Fair Political Practices Commission in January of every odd-numbered year. Existing law authorizes a county, city, or district to limit campaign contributions in local elections. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or of a community college district to limit campaign expenditures or contributions in elections to district offices. The act specifies that it does not prevent the Legislature or any other state or local agency from imposing additional requirements on a person if the requirements do not prevent the person from complying with the act, and that the act does not nullify contribution limitations or prohibitions by any local jurisdiction that apply to elections for local elective office, as specified. This bill, commencing January 1, 2019, instead would prohibit a person from making to a candidate for local elective office, and would prohibit a candidate for local elective office from accepting from a person, a contribution totaling more than the amount set forth in the act for limitations on contributions to a candidate for elective state office. This bill would also authorize a county, city, special district, or school district to impose a limitation that is different from the limitation imposed by this bill. This bill would repeal the authorization for the governing board of a school district or of a community college district to limit campaign expenditures in elections to district offices. This bill would make specified provisions of the act relating to contribution limitations applicable to a candidate for a local elective office, except as specified. The act makes a violation of its provisions punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties. This bill would add the contribution limitation imposed by the bill to the act's provisions, thereby making a violation of the limitation punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties. However, the bill would specify that a violation of a limitation imposed by a local government is not subject to the act's enforcement provisions. The bill would authorize a local government that imposes a limitation that is different from the limitation imposed by this bill to adopt enforcement standards for a violation of the limitation imposed by the local government agency, including administrative, civil, or criminal penalties. By expanding the scope of an existing crime with regard to a violation of a contribution limitation imposed by the bill, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law provides for a schedule of benefits provided under the Medi-Cal program, which includes certain dental services that are referred to as Denti-Cal. Existing law, the California Healthcare, Research, and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016, or Proposition 56, which was approved by voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, increases taxes imposed on distributors of cigarettes and tobacco products and allocates a specified percentage of those revenues to the department to increase funding for existing health care programs under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law establishes the Healthcare Treatment Fund for this purpose. This bill would require the department, for the 2017–18 fiscal year, to double Denti-Cal provider reimbursement rates for the 15 most common prevention, treatment, and oral evaluation services based on the average rates per service established in the 2015–16 fiscal year. The bill would appropriate for the 2017–18 fiscal year such an amount as may be necessary to double the reimbursement rates from the Healthcare Treatment Fund to the department, as specified.

Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Those laws provide various exemptions from those taxes. This bill, on and after January 1, 2018, would exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual sponges, and menstrual cups. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

(1) The Sales and Use Tax Law provides that a retailer is relieved from liability for sales or use tax where the measure of the tax is represented by accounts that have been found to be worthless and charged off, as specified. Existing law provides that a retailer may take as a deduction against that tax liability, the amount found to be worthless and charged off, if the retailer has previously paid the tax as provided. Existing law includes as a retailer certain affiliated entities. This bill instead would define a retailer to include a successor, as defined, that pays full consideration for receivables acquired from a retailer. (2) Existing law further provides, in the case of accounts held by a lender, that the lender is entitled to a deduction or refund of the sales or use tax previously reported and paid by the retailer on that account if certain conditions are met. This bill would eliminate these provisions.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. The act requires the state board to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act requires the state board, when adopting rules and regulations to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions beyond the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit and to protect the state's most impacted and disadvantaged communities, to follow specified requirements, consider the social costs of the emissions of greenhouse gases, and prioritize specified emission reduction rules and regulations. This bill would additionally require the state board to consider and account for the social costs of the emissions of greenhouse gases when adopting those rules and regulations. The bill would authorize the state board to adopt or amend regulations that establish a market-based compliance mechanism, applicable from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2030, to complement direct emissions reduction measures in ensuring that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The bill would authorize the state board to adopt no-trade zones or facility-specific declining greenhouse gas emissions limits where facilities' emissions contribute to a cumulative pollution burden that creates a significant health impact. This bill would require the state board, in consultation with affected air pollution control and air quality management districts, to adopt air pollutant emissions standards for emissions of criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants at industrial facilities that are subject to a market-based compliance mechanism. The bill would prohibit the state board from allocating allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to industrial facilities that do not meet the air pollutant emissions standards for criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants. This bill would require the state board, in ensuring that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030, to adopt the most effective and equitable mix of emissions reduction measures and ensure that emissions reduction measures collectively and individually support achieving air quality and other environmental and public health goals.